mean
noun
1 mean
An average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n.
synonym: mean value.
Roget 628:
middle course,
midcourse;
mean
etc.
29;
middle
etc.
68;
juste milieu [Fr.],
mezzo termine [It],
golden mean,
ariston metron [Gr.],
aurea mediocritas [Lat.].
straight
etc.
(direct)
278,
straight course,
straight path;
short cut,
cross cut;
great circle sailing.
neutrality;
half measure,
half and half measures;
compromise.
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Roget 68:
middle,
midst,
mediety†,
mean
etc.
29;
medium,
middle term;
center
etc.
222,
mid-course
etc.
628;
mezzo termine [It];
juste milieu [Fr.]
etc.
628;
halfway house,
nave,
navel,
omphalos†;
nucleus,
nucleolus.
equidistance†,
bisection,
half distance;
equator,
diaphragm,
midriff;
intermediate
etc.
228.
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Roget 29:
mean,
average;
median,
mode;
balance,
medium,
mediocrity,
generality;
golden mean
etc.
(mid-course)
628;
middle
etc.
68;
compromise
etc.
774;
middle course,
middle state;
neutrality.
mediocrity,
least common denominator.
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Dutch: gemiddelde, moyenne
Polish: średnia potęgowa rzędu k, średnia potęgowa
verb
1 mean
Mean or intend to express or convey:
— You never understand what I mean!.
synonym: intend.
Roget 620:
intend,
purpose,
design,
mean;
have to;
propose to oneself;
harbor a design;
have in view,
have in contemplation,
have in one's eye,
have in petto;
have an eye to.
bid for,
labor for;
be after,
aspire after,
endeavor after;
be at,
aim at,
drive at,
point at,
level at,
aspire at;
take aim;
set before oneself;
study to.
take upon oneself
etc.
(undertake)
676;
take into one's head;
meditate,
contemplate of,
think of,
dream of,
talk of;
premeditate
etc.
611;
compass,
calculate;
destine,
destinate†;
propose.
project
etc.
(plan)
626;
have a mind to
etc.
(be willing)
602;
desire
etc.
865;
pursue
etc.
622.
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Dutch: van plan zijn, willen, bedoelen, intenderen
2 mean
Have as a logical consequence:
— The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers.
synonyms: entail, imply.
Dutch: beduiden, behelzen, betekenen, inhouden, met zich meebrengen, neerkomen, omvatten, tot gevolg hebben, veroorzaken, zeggen
3 mean
Denote or connote:
— `maison' means `house' in French.
— An example sentence would show what this word means.
synonyms: intend, signify, stand for.
Roget 516:
mean,
signify,
express;
import,
purport;
convey,
imply,
breathe,
indicate,
bespeak,
bear a sense;
tell of,
speak of;
touch on;
point to,
allude to;
drive at;
involve
etc.
(latency)
526;
declare
etc.
(affirm)
535.
understand by
etc.
(interpret)
522.
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4 mean
Have in mind as a purpose:
— I mean no harm.
— I only meant to help you.
synonyms: intend, think.
Dutch: beogen, intenderen, bedoelen, menen
5 mean
Have a specified degree of importance.
Dutch: betekenen
6 mean
Intend to refer to:
— Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!.
synonyms: have in mind, think of.
Dutch: in gedachte hebben
7 mean
Destine or designate for a certain purpose.
adjective
1 mean
Approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value:
— The mean annual rainfall.
synonym: average.
Roget 29:
mean,
intermediate;
middle
etc.
68;
average;
neutral.
mediocre,
middle-class;
commonplace
etc.
(unimportant)
643.
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Roget 943:
selfish;
self-seeking,
self-indulgent,
self-interested,
self-centered;
wrapped up in self,
wrapt up in self†,
centered in self;
egotistic,
egotistical;
egoistical†.
illiberal,
mean,
ungenerous,
narrow-minded;
mercenary,
venal;
covetous
etc.
819.
unspiritual,
earthly,
earthly-minded;
mundane;
worldly,
worldly-minded;
worldly-wise;
timeserving†.
interested;
alieni appetens sui profusus [Lat.].
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Roget 68:
middle,
medial,
mesial [Med.],
mean,
mid,
median,
average;
middlemost,
midmost;
mediate;
intermediate
etc.
(interjacent)
228;
equidistant;
central
etc.
222;
mediterranean,
equatorial;
homocentric.
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Polish: przeciętny, średni
2 mean
Characterized by malice:
— In a mean mood.
synonym: hateful.
Roget 649:
hurtful,
harmful,
scathful†,
baneful,
baleful;
injurious,
deleterious,
detrimental,
noxious,
pernicious,
mischievous,
full of mischief,
mischief-making,
malefic,
malignant,
nocuous,
noisome;
prejudicial;
disserviceable†,
disadvantageous;
wide-wasting.
unlucky,
sinister;
obnoxious;
untoward,
disastrous.
oppressive,
burdensome,
onerous;
malign
etc.
(malevolent)
907.
corrupting
etc.
(corrupt)
etc.
659;
virulent,
venomous,
envenomed,
corrosive;
poisonous
etc.
(morbific)
657†;
deadly
etc.
(killing)
361;
destructive
etc.
(destroying)
162;
inauspicious
etc.
859.
bad,
ill,
arrant,
as bad as bad can be,
dreadful;
horrid,
horrible;
dire;
rank,
peccant,
foul,
fulsome;
rotten,
rotten at the core.
vile,
base,
villainous;
mean
etc.
(paltry)
643;
injured
&c.;
deteriorated
etc.
659;
unsatisfactory,
exceptionable indifferent;
below par
etc.
(imperfect)
651;
illcontrived,
ill-conditioned;
wretched,
sad,
grievous,
deplorable,
lamentable;
pitiful,
pitiable,
woeful
etc.
(painful)
830.
evil,
wrong;
depraved
etc.
945;
shocking;
reprehensible
etc.
(disapprove)
932.
hateful,
hateful as a toad;
abominable,
detestable,
execrable,
cursed,
accursed,
confounded;
damned,
damnable;
infernal;
diabolic
etc.
(malevolent)
907.
unadvisable
etc.
(inexpedient)
647;
unprofitable
etc.
(useless)
645;
incompetent
etc.
(unskillful)
699;
irremediable
etc.
(hopeless)
859.
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3 mean
Having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality:
— Taking a mean advantage.
— Chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort.
— Something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics.
synonyms: base, meanspirited.
Roget 940:
dishonest,
dishonorable;
unconscientious,
unscrupulous;
fraudulent
etc.
545;
knavish;
disgraceful
etc.
(disreputable)
974;
wicked
etc.
945.
false-hearted,
disingenuous;
unfair,
one-sided;
double,
double-hearted,
double-tongued,
double-faced;
timeserving†,
crooked,
tortuous,
insidious,
Machiavelian,
dark,
slippery;
fishy;
perfidious,
treacherous,
perjured.
infamous,
arrant,
foul,
base,
vile,
ignominious,
blackguard.
contemptible,
unrespectable,
abject,
mean,
shabby,
little,
paltry,
dirty,
scurvy,
scabby,
sneaking,
groveling,
scrubby,
rascally,
pettifogging;
beneath one.
low-minded,
low-thoughted†;
base-minded.
undignified,
indign†;
unbecoming,
unbeseeming†,
unbefitting;
derogatory,
degrading;
infra dignitatem [Lat.],
beneath one's dignity;
ungentlemanly,
ungentlemanlike;
unknightly†,
unchivalric†,
unmanly,
unhandsome;
recreant,
inglorious.
corrupt,
venal;
debased,
mongrel.
faithless,
of bad faith,
false,
unfaithful,
disloyal;
untrustworthy;
trustless,
trothless†;
lost to shame,
dead to honor;
barratrous.
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Roget 886:
servile,
obsequious;
supple,
supple as a glove;
soapy,
oily,
pliant,
cringing,
abased,
dough-faced,
fawning,
slavish,
groveling,
sniveling,
mealy-mouthed;
beggarly,
sycophantic,
parasitical;
abject,
prostrate,
down on ones marrowbones;
base,
mean,
sneaking;
crouching
etc.
v..
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Roget 876:
ignoble,
common,
mean,
low,
base,
vile,
sorry,
scrubby,
beggarly;
below par;
no great shakes
etc.
(unimportant)
643;
homely,
homespun;
vulgar,
low-minded;
snobbish.
plebeian,
proletarian;
of low parentage,
of low origin,
of low extraction,
of mean parentage,
of mean origin,
of mean extraction;
lowborn,
baseborn,
earthborn†;
mushroom,
dunghill,
risen from the ranks;
unknown to fame,
obscure,
untitled.
rustic,
uncivilized;
loutish,
boorish,
clownish,
churlish,
brutish,
raffish;
rude,
unlicked†.
barbarous,
barbarian,
barbaric,
barbaresque†;
cockney,
born within sound of Bow bells.
underling,
menial,
subaltern.
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4 mean
5 mean
Marked by poverty befitting a beggar:
— A mean hut.
synonym: beggarly.
Roget 874:
disgraced
etc.
v.;
blown upon;
shorn of its beams"
[Milton],
shorn of one's glory;
overcome,
downtrodden;
loaded with shame
etc.
n.;
in bad repute
etc.
n.;
out of repute,
out of favor,
out of fashion,
out of countenance;
at a discount;
under a cloud,
under an eclipse;
unable to show one's face;
in the shade,
in the background;
out at elbows,
down at the elbows,
down in the world.
inglorious;
nameless,
renownless†;
obscure;
unknown to fame;
unnoticed,
unnoted†,
unhonored,
unglorified†.
shameful;
disgraceful,
discreditable,
disreputable;
despicable;
questionable;
unbecoming,
unworthy;
derogatory;
degrading,
humiliating,
infra dignitatem [Lat.],
dedecorous†;
scandalous,
infamous,
too bad,
unmentionable;
ribald,
opprobrious;
errant,
shocking,
outrageous,
notorious.
ignominious,
scrubby,
dirty,
abject,
vile,
beggarly,
pitiful,
low,
mean,
shabby base
etc.
(dishonorable)
940.
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Roget 643:
unimportant;
of little account,
of small account,
of no account,
of little importance,
of no importance
etc.
642;
immaterial;
unessential,
nonessential;
indifferent.
subordinate
etc.
(inferior)
34;
mediocre
etc.
(average)
29;
passable,
fair,
respectable,
tolerable,
commonplace;
uneventful,
mere,
common;
ordinary
etc.
(habitual)
613;
inconsiderable,
so-so,
insignificant,
inappreciable.
trifling,
trivial;
slight,
slender,
light,
flimsy,
frothy,
idle;
puerile
etc.
(foolish)
499;
airy,
shallow;
weak
etc.
160;
powerless
etc.
158;
frivolous,
petty,
niggling;
piddling,
peddling;
fribble†,
inane,
ridiculous,
farcical;
finical,
finikin†;
fiddle-faddle,
fingle-fangle†,
namby-pamby,
wishy-washy,
milk and water.
poor,
paltry,
pitiful;
contemptible
etc.
(contempt)
930;
sorry,
mean,
meager,
shabby,
miserable,
wretched,
vile,
scrubby,
scrannel†,
weedy,
niggardly,
scurvy,
putid†,
beggarly,
worthless,
twopennyhalfpenny,
cheap,
trashy,
catchpenny,
gimcrack,
trumpery;
one-horse [U.S.].
not worth the pains,
not worth while,
not worth mentioning,
not worth speaking of,
not worth a thought,
not worth a curse,
not worth a straw
etc.
n.;
beneath notice,
unworthy of notice,
beneath regard,
unworthy of regard,
beneath consideration,
unworthy of consideration;
de lana caprina [It];
vain
etc.
(useless)
645.
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Polish: żebracki
6 mean
used of persons or behavior Characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity:
— A mean person.
synonyms: mingy, miserly, tight.
Roget 819:
parsimonious,
penurious,
stingy,
miserly,
mean,
shabby,
peddling,
scrubby,
penny wise,
near,
niggardly,
close;
fast handed,
close handed,
strait handed;
close fisted,
hard fisted,
tight fisted;
tight,
sparing;
chary;
grudging,
griping
etc.
v.;
illiberal,
ungenerous,
churlish,
hidebound,
sordid,
mercenary,
venal,
covetous,
usurious,
avaricious,
greedy,
extortionate,
rapacious.
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Polish: skąpy
7 mean
used of sums of money So small in amount as to deserve contempt.
synonym: beggarly.
8 mean
Moby thesaurus: Herculean, Lenten, Mickey Mouse, OK, Spartan, abject, abominable, absolutely, abstemious, abstruse, abysmal, ace-high, add up to, affect, agency, agent, ailing, aim, aim at, allegorize, allude to, amidships, apparatus, approach, arduous, argue, arrant, ascetic, aspire after, aspire to, assets, assume, assuredly, at all events, at any cost, atrocious, attest, augur, austere, authoritarian, avenue, average, backing, bad, bad-tempered, baleful, banal, bang-up, base, base-minded, baseborn, be after, be construed as, be indicative of, be significant of, be symptomatic of, bearish, beggarly, below the salt, beneath contempt, bespeak, betoken, bigot, bigoted, bitchy, bonzer, borne, boss, brandish, breathe, bring forth, bring forward, bring into view, bring out, bring to mind, bring to notice, brutal, bully, bundle, but good, by all means, by dint of, by means of, by no means, by way of, cankered, cantankerous, capital, carry, center, central, certainly, channel, characterize, cheap, cheesy, churlish, close, closed, coarse, cockney, common, commonplace, communicate, complex, compromise, connote, constricted, contemplate, contemptible, convey, cool, core, corking, count, course, crabbed, crackerjack, cramped, cranky, creedbound, critical, cross, cross-grained, cruel, crummy, crusty, cussed, dandy, dangle, deaf, deaf to reason, debased, declasse, deficient, definitely, degenerate, degraded, delicate, delicious, demanding, demonstrate, denominate, denote, depraved, design, designate, desire, despicable, destine, determine, develop, diameter, diaphragm, differentiate, difficile, difficult, dirty, disagreeable, disclose, disgraceful, disgusting, dismal, disobliging, display, divine, divulge, donsie, dramatize, dreary, drive at, ducky, dwarfed, dwarfish, effective, embody, enact, entail, equator, equatorial, equidistant, equipment, estate, evidence, evince, exacting, excellent, exceptional, excitable, execrable, exhibit, exiguous, expect, expose to view, express, fab, fair, fairish, fanatical, fashion, feisty, fence, finances, fine and dandy, flagrant, flaunt, flourish, foreshadow, foretell, foretoken, formidable, fortune, foul, fourth-class, fractious, frugal, fulsome, funds, gaudy, gear, get across, get over, gimcracky, give evidence, give sign, give token, go for, golden mean, grave, great, groovy, gross, grudging, hack, hairy, half measures, half-and-half measures, halfway, halfway measures, happy medium, harbor a design, hard, hard-earned, hard-fought, harmful, hateful, have every intention, have in mind, have in view, heart, heavy, heinous, herald, hidebound, highlight, hint, hint at, holdings, homely, hope, hostile, hot, huffish, huffy, humble, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humblest, hunky-dory, identify, ignoble, ill-tempered, illiberal, illuminate, imperfect, implicate, imply, import, impoverished, in any case, in any event, in no way, inadequate, incarnate, incompetent, indicate, indifferent, indisposed, ineffectual, infer, inferior, inglorious, iniquitous, innocuous, insinuate, instrument, instrumentality, instrumentation, insufficient, insular, intangibles, intend, intercurrent, interior, interjacent, intermediary, intermediate, intervenient, intervening, intimate, intricate, invidious, involve, irascible, irregular, irritable, jam-up, jawbreaking, jejune, just dandy, keen, kernel, knotted, knotty, laborious, lean, least, limited, little, little-minded, low, low-class, low-down, low-grade, low-minded, low-quality, low-test, lowborn, lowbred, lowest, lowliest, lowly, lumpen, machinery, make clear, make plain, maladroit, malefic, maleficent, malicious, malign, malignant, mangy, manifest, manner, mark, marvy, materialize, meager, mean, mean to say, mean-minded, mean-spirited, means, measly, medial, median, mediocre, mediterranean, medium, menial, mercenary, meretricious, mesial, mesne, method, mezzo, mid, middle, middle course, middle ground, middle way, middle-of-the-road, middlemost, middling, midland, midmost, midriff, midships, midst, midway, mind, mingy, ministry, miserable, miserly, mode, moderate, moderateness, moderation, modest, money, moneybags, monstrous, name, narrow, narrow-hearted, narrow-minded, narrow-souled, narrow-spirited, nasty, near, nearsighted, neat, nefarious, nest egg, neutral ground, nifty, niggard, niggardly, no matter what, no picnic, no way, nobby, nonclerical, norm, normal, not at all, not comparable, not easy, not in it, note, noxious, nuclear, nucleus, obnoxious, odious, of course, okay, on no account, operose, ordinary, organ, ornery, out of it, out of sight, paltry, par, parade, paraphernalia, parochial, parsimonious, pathetic, peachy, peachy-keen, penny-pinching, penurious, perform, perverse, pesky, petty, pile, pinchpenny, pitiable, pitiful, plain, plan, plebeian, pocket, point indirectly to, point to, poky, poor, portend, position, positively, possessions, prefigure, preindicate, presage, present, presign, presignal, presignify, presume, presuppose, pretypify, procedure, process, produce, project, proletarian, promise, property, propose, provincial, punk, puny, purblind, purport, purpose, purse, rank, refer to, represent, reptilian, reserves, resolve, resources, reveal, rigorous, ripping, roll out, rough, routine, rubbishy, rude, rugged, rum, run-down, sad, savings, scabby, scant, scanty, scrawny, scrimp, scrimpy, scrubby, scruffy, scrumptious, scummy, scurvy, scuzzy, second-best, second-class, second-rate, seedy, servile, set, set forth, set with thorns, severe, shabby, shabby-genteel, shoddy, shortsighted, show, show forth, signal, signify, simple, skilled, skimp, skimpy, slap-up, slavish, sleazy, slender, slight, slim, small, small-minded, smashing, snappish, so-so, solid, something else, sordid, sorry, sour, spare, sparing, specify, spell, spiffing, spiffy, spiny, spiteful, spleeny, splenetic, spotlight, squalid, stand for, standard, starvation, steep, stingy, stinted, stinting, straitened, straitlaced, strenuous, stuffy, stunning, stunted, submissive, subservient, subsistence, substance, suggest, support, suppose, surely, swell, symbolize, symptomatize, symptomize, system, tacky, take for granted, tatty, teachable, technique, testify, testy, thick, thick of things, thin, think, third-class, third-estate, third-rate, thorny, through, ticklish, tight, tight-fisted, tightfisted, tinny, toilsome, token, tough, trashy, tricky, trot out, troublous, trumpery, two-for-a-cent, two-for-a-penny, twopenny, twopenny-halfpenny, typify, ugly, unaccommodating, uncatholic, uncharitable, unchivalrous, undignified, undistinguished, unfold, ungenerous, ungenteel, unimportant, unkind, unliberal, unmentionable, unnourishing, unnutritious, unpleasant, unpretentious, unskillful, unwashed, uphill, using, usual, valueless, vehicle, vexatious, via, via media, vile, vulgar, waist, waistline, want, waspish, watered, watery, wave, way, ways, wealth, weigh, wherewithal, wicked, wish, without fail, wizard, wonderful, worthless, wretched, zone ... show more.
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